As the Steelers waited out Aaron Rodgers's prolonged free agency period this spring, there were also reports that Rodgers was interested in the Vikings, who could've used him to capitalize on the momentum from their strong 2024 season and also serve as a mentor to a young J.J. McCarthy.
Ultimately, nothing came of that pursuit, as the Vikings opted to put it all on McCarthy while Rodgers, of course, landed with Pittsburgh. But the veteran QB was nonetheless asked about those discussions again on Wednesday, ahead of the Steelers' game vs. the Vikings in Ireland this weekend.
Unsurprisingly, Rodgers did not open up much.
"I've addressed that already, but I'll just reiterate that Kevin and I have been friends since 2008. ... We keep in touch. He's one of the guys I keep in touch with," Rodgers said. "Things never progressed farther than catch-up conversations. And I'll just leave it at that."
Reports at the time suggested the QB was waiting to hear what the Vikings wanted to do before getting back to both the Steelers and the Giants (who were said to be interested before signing veteran Russell Wilson). But it seems like he is saying that talks of him playing with the Vikes never even got that far.
We are unlikely to get the full story here and it probably does not matter at this point. But it will be fun to watch things go down on the sidelines this week in Dublin, offseason rumors in mind.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers Addresses Offseason Interest in Minnesota Before Steelers-Vikings Clash.